You can't say MSB's offering looks nicer....

mmm.....design/aesthetics, HE 1/Orpheus 2 looks a lot better than the MSB system. But how it looks is really irrelevant to how it sounds. I look forward to reading the listening impressions that pits the HE1 vs. the MSB/Stax.

Will the HE1/ MSB systems ever be in the same place at the same time next to eachother with the same source material though? I doubt it.

MSB should crush Sennheiser in terms of DAC capabilities.

hfflt said:

  MSB should crush Sennheiser in terms of DAC capabilities.

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You are probably right. The HE1 DAC based on ESS Sabre is great but perhaps not the most resolving/detailed. I find my Yggy to be more resolving compared to my M920 (ESS Sabre). And during my 20 minutes with my crappy music, I can tell at certain sections, my Yggy is more resolving/detailed than the HE1 DAC. However, the tube amp and electrostatic headphones just deliver whatever details that the DAC can capture in the most natural, smooth way with that large 3D soundstage and depth.
 
If I have the kind of money to get the MSB or Sennheiser HE1, I will buy a Chord DAVE (best DAC I have heard) + the Sennheiser HE1. It will be the ultimate end game rig for me at under £50,000.

There are two paths to end game headphone audio
THe he1 is a well made and great looking setup complete with headphones
If it was me buy it it's a part of owning one too. You can always use an external dac later if need be.
Also save some change for a good source as in server.

To go the msb route and I own one you still need headphones of choice
But the dac and amp can be upgated for future.

I own a few high dacs digital is still moving
Amps and headphones not really small changes made to be amplified hahaha

The right thing should be using the HE-1 with the MSB Select DAC...then we will have a fair comparison, don't forget that the Select DAC is probably the best DAC out there and costs more than 100k...
Also, please someone bring a Carbon or a BHSE and compare it with the MSB Electrostatic amp, using the Select as DAC.
I have the feeling that the DAC is so good that makes the amp sounds better, maybe a BHSE with the Select DAC will destroy the MSB amplifier, don't forget how grossly overpriced MSB products are (phenomenal products but vastly overpriced).

torofiestasol said:

The right thing should be using the HE-1 with the MSB Select DAC...then we will have a fair comparison, don't forget that the Select DAC is probably the best DAC out there and costs more than 100k...
Also, please someone bring a Carbon or a BHSE and compare it with the MSB Electrostatic amp, using the Select as DAC.
I have the feeling that the DAC is so good that makes the amp sounds better, maybe a BHSE with the Select DAC will destroy the MSB amplifier, don't forget how grossly overpriced MSB products are (phenomenal products but vastly overpriced).

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I think using a chord Dave as the Dac would be a better idea

lovethatsound said:

I think using a chord Dave as the Dac would be a better idea

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Maybe you are right, but my point was to isolate the amplifier, to know how good it is.
Also, Dave VS Select DAC can be very interesting too

I would by the setup and a server of some kind.
Get to know the set up then by a dac. Also while he Dave is supposed to be a very good it's designer is not one to like dsd so I would think you should audition it first.
I am just trying to give you sound advice.
Please take no offense

mulder01 said:

  I wonder how many people will be listening to this — MSB SELECT Headphone Amplifier & MSB SELECT DAC II — and thinking "yeah it's good, but I'd like to hear something a bit more affordable, like the Orpheus..."

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Well, let's swing the crazy pendulum in the other direction... Now I want to hear the MSB Select DAC II combined WITH the Orpheus!

johnny moondog said:

Well, let's swing the crazy pendulum in the other direction... Now I want to hear the MSB Select DAC II combined WITH the Orpheus!

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Why would you want to hear an over priced dac like the MSB Select Dac II,when you could put a Chord Dave with the Orpheus,surely the Orpheus deserves to be heard with the best Dac in the world today,which by all accounts is the Chord Dave

lovethatsound said:

Why would you want to hear an over priced dac like the MSB Select Dac II,when you could put a Chord Dave with the Orpheus,surely the Orpheus deserves to be heard with the best Dac in the world today,which by all accounts is the Chord Dave

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MSB Select II is great sounding DAC, so to me it is natural to want to hear the Orpheus ll with it along with other fine DACs like the Dave. 

50 large for a pair of Headphones? I've been an audiophile since the late 70's and for that kind of money Sennheiser ought to send a high end prostitute to deliver them. I can put together a regular 2 channel audio system with both digital and analog source equipment, bad-ass pre and power amps, speakers to match, equipment stands and shelving, and last but definitly not least a high-end acoustic treated listening room. Maybe even a high-end music server and Apple computer to play my digital files. Also enough to start a badass record collection. 
 
A. I wonder how many of these units they will actually manufacture and B. how many they will sell. I'm sure they will sound magnificent. But so do the Rockport Technologies Arrakis Loudspeakers that cost $300,000. They weight 900 pounds each and are considered by many to be the finest loudspeakers ever made, even better than Wilson Audio's Alexandria XLF. A system built around these loudspeakers would be at least a million dollars. (That makes more sense than 50 thousand dollars for a pair of headphones). I'm not judging, I'm just saying.
 
I'm sorry, but headphones just can't present sound that sounds like the musicians you're listening to are in the same room.
 
I used to own a system that cost $38,500. 15 grand just for the turntable as well as a $30,000 record collection. I'm not going to go into it, but I lost my job and sold everything to survive. So I decided to start from scratch and put together a decent headphone system that makes me happy. I'm sorry headphones just don't have the ability to reproduce sound as well as a high-end 2 channel audio system. I will never have the money to put together another system even close to the one I had. So I've learned to embrace headphones and the sound they can reproduce. But if I had $50,000 at my disposal, I sure as hell wouldn't be buying ******* headphones.
 
In case you're wondering:
HiFiMAN HE-400's w/ CablePro custom cable
AKG K702's
HeadRoom Micro Amp w/ power supply upgrade
HeadRoom Mirco DAC 
PS Audio Duet Power Center AC noise filter and surge protector. $300 and worth every penny.
2 PS Audio Noise Harvesters
Cardas interconnect from DAC to amp
Pangea AC-14 power cord
Dell Laptop. 170GB of music files either ALAC or AIFF, About 7000 files.
Use Foobar2000

Hi chrismini
The thing is chris,this is Head-Fi,and strangely enough,people on here do buy headphones.